Tax

Treasury Regulations

Treasury Regulations

Treasury Regulations

Treasury Regulations, commonly referred to as Federal tax regulations, pick up where the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) leaves off by providing the official interpretation of the IRC by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Index of the Treasury Regulations

CHAPTER I – INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Subchapter A – Income Tax
Subchapter B – Estate and Gift Taxes
Subchapter C – Employment Taxes and Collection of Income Tax at Source
Subchapter D – Miscellaneous Excise Taxes
Subchapter E – Reserved
Subchapter F – Procedure and Administration
Subchapter G – Regulations Under Tax Conventions
Subchapter H – Internal Revenue Practice
Proposed Regulations

More information are in 27 CFR Part 25 (Code of Federal Regulations) and the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.

Treasury Regulations: Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), a division of the Treasury Department, issues tax regulations, officially known as Treasury Regulations. Its regulations are the Treasury Department’s official interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS issues three types of regulations: final, temporary and proposed. Final regulations provide legally binding guidance. Temporary regulations are effective upon publication in the Federal Register and may be valid for no more than three years from their date of issuance. Proposed regulations do not become effective until after comments and testimony have been received and reviewed and a final version of the regulations have been issued.

Temporary and final regulations are initially published as Treasury Decisions (“TD”). TD’s include an explanatory preamble, which can be a great source for research. TD’s as well as proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register. Final and temporary regulations are later codified in Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“C.F.R.”), however, the explanatory preambles are not published in the C.F.R. See below for information on locating, updating, and citing tax regulations. For general information on the Federal Register and the C.F.R. click here to view a guide on these tools related to Administrative Law.

Locating Treasury Regulations

Treasury Regulations, as codified in Title 26 of the C.F.R.

Treasury Regulations, as codified in Title 26 of the C.F.R., can be found in:

  • The Code of Federal Regulations. In general, the C.F.R. section numbers correspond to the Code sections they interpret. For example, Treas. Reg. § 1.7520-1 interprets I.R.C. § 7520. The C.F.R. also includes a CFR Index and Finding Aid, which can help you to locate relevant sections of the C.F.R. It is cumbersome to update the C.F.R. in print, so be sure to update it online.
  • The C.F.R. is also available online at several federal government websites.
  • CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter. The SFTR prints the full text of final, temporary and proposed Treasury Regulations directly following the IRC section they relate to. If you are looking for a topic discussed in a regulation, you can look up the relevant citation in the Finding Lists at the rear of the Citator Volume, which will refer you to an appropriate paragraph number to look up in the compilation volumes. You must also update your research by looking in Volume 19, the New Matters Volume, which includes updating materials about regulations and other topics. To find recent developments, look up the paragraph number you are dealing with in the Cumulative Index in Volume 19, which will point you to a New Development Paragraph Number to look up in the New Matters Volume.
  • CCH Tax Research NetWork: If you know the regulation you are looking for, click on the Find By Citation link at the top of the screen, and type in the section in the field beginning with “Reg.” If you want to browse the regulations, click on the Federal Tab, then under Primary Sources click on the Federal Tax Regulations link, and continue clicking on the type of regulation in which you are interested.
  • RIA United States Tax Reporter. The USTR prints the full text of final, temporary and proposed Treasury Regulations directly following the IRC section they relate to. The USTR also contains the preambles to proposed regulations in Volume 18 in chronological order. You will need to update your research by looking up the relevant USTR paragraph number in the Cross-Reference Table in the Recent Developments Volume (volume 16). This table will point you to updating material in that volume.
  • RIA Checkpoint (available on the Harvard Law School Network and at some law firms): On the left-hand side of the screen, under Find By Citation, click on “Code & Regs,” enter your citation and click Search. To search for Regulations click on the “+” sign in front of “Code, Regulations, Committee Reports” below the Primary Source Materials heading. Then place a check in the boxes containing the types of regulations you would like to search, enter search terms in the box at the top of the screen, and click on the Search button.
  • Westlaw: Former FTX-CFR database contained final and temporary Treasury Regulations. Former FTX-REG database contained final, temporary and proposed Treasury Regulations, Treasury Decisions, notices of proposed rulemaking and notices of public hearings since 1980. This database includeded all of the information in both the FTX-CFR and FTX-FR databases.
  • Lexis: Former FEDTAX;REGS database contained final and temporary Treasury Regulations from the C.F.R. and the Federal Register with coverage beginning in July 1980.

Regulations as they are passed by the IRS

Regulations as they are passed by the IRS (before being subject arranged in the C.F.R.) can be found in:

  • Federal Registe. The Federal Register contains several reader’s aids to help you locate information within it. You can read more about the reader’s aids by reviewing the Administrative Law guide at the following link. The Federal Register is also available online at several federal government websites.
  • Westlaw: Former FTX-FR database contained notices of proposed rulemaking, notices of public hearings, Treasury Decisions, and Treasury Regulations (including Final IRS Regulations, Proposed IRS Regulations, and Temporary IRS Regulations, with coverage beginning in July 1980. Former FTX-TD database contained Treasury Decisions published in the Federal Register since August 1980.
  • Lexis: Former FEDTAX;REGS database contained final and temporary Treasury Regulations from the C.F.R. and the Federal Register with coverage beginning in July 1980. Former FEDTAX;P-REGS database contained proposed Treasury Regulations published in the Federal Register since July 1980.

Updating Treasury Regulations

The easiest and most efficient way to update regulations is online. Key Cite on Westlaw is probably some of the best updating service. To use Key Cite, type in the citation to the Treasury Regulation in the Key Cite box in this format: 26 cfr s 1.101-2. CCH Tax Research NetWork and RIA Checkpoint also have citators. You can access CCH Tax Research NetWork’s citator by clicking on the “Check Citator” tab at the top of the screen and then entering a citation in the search box. On RIA Checkpoint click on the Citator 2d link on the left-hand side of the screen. With RIA Checkpoint you can update only by Treasury Decision number as opposed to a C.F.R. citation.

Citing Treasury Regulations

Citing Treasury Regulations in Bluebook

See Bluebook Practitioners’ Notes P.5 for information on citing the current version of federal Treasury Regulations in court documents and legal memoranda: Example: Treas. Reg. § 1.72-16(a).

If you are citing earlier versions of Treasury Regulations you will need to include a date as prescribed in Bluebook Rule 14.5.1. Note that Treasury Regulation citations in law review articles must also contain a date. (See Bluebook Rule 14.5.1)

See Bluebook Rule Rules 14.1, 14.2, and 14.5.1 for information on citing Treasury Regulations as they appear in the Federal Register. Example: Prop. Treas. Reg. § 1.704-1, 48 Fed. Reg. 9871 (Mar. 9, 1983)

Proposed Regulations Information in the Encyclopedia

Tax Bills

Find information about Tax Bills in the Legislative Bills platform of the Lawi Project:

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